heracleidæ

pl. [Gr. Herakles =Hercules (q. v.).) The descendants of Hercules. hër-a-clei-dan, hër-a-cli'-dan, a. & s. [HERA CLEIDE.] IMG:content-1124.png:[blocks in formation] He-răc-le-on-ītes, s . pl . [Named from Heracleon (see def.).] Ecclesiol. & Ch . Hist .: A sect of gnostics, founded in the second century by Heracleon, a follower of Val ent in us. Heracleon taught that a Monad was the original source of all things, that from the Monad sprang two beings, and from these the Eons emanated. He published a Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, fragments of which have been preserved by Origen. [VAL ENT IN I ANS.]